Some High Desert parents desperate to turn around their children’s school have shown it can be done – the first parent-led takeover of a failing California public school is officially under way.

This week, parents are expected to begin meeting with the charter operator selected to transform the public school, Desert Trails Elementary in Adelanto, into Desert Trails Preparatory Academy.

By the fall, the new academy will welcome its first class – on the elementary school’s campus.

The significance of this achievement cannot be overstated; it puts failing schools all over California on notice that they must turn things around or face the barrel at the end of the parent-trigger law.

Next on the list is 24th Street Elementary School in Los Angeles where parents are poised to turn in their petitions for change Thursday.

The law, also known as the 2010 Parent Empowerment Act, gives parents authority to force sweeping changes at a struggling school by switching it to a charter school, shutting it down or replacing the principal.

It’s been nearly two years since the Adelanto parents filed their petition to force change at Desert Trails Elementary, a school that performs below San Bernardino County’s average. Learning from the example of McKinley Elementary School in Compton – where powerful union forces snuffed out an earlier attempt to trigger reforms – parents at Desert Trails Elementary organized and set to work gathering the signatures needed to file a petition to take over the school.

Desert Trails parents originally hoped filing the petition would give them leverage to negotiate reforms with the Adelanto Elementary School District. A school takeover was considered the last resort, but the issue was forced by union-backed challenges to a call for contract changes that would have given schools more flexibility in hiring and evaluating teachers. The petition moved forward, eventually landing in the courtroom of a judge who compelled the district to relinquish control of the school.

Last week, parents rejoiced as the district approved the proposal from the director of LaVerne Preparatory Academy in Hesperia, the charter operator they selected to transform Desert Trails. LaVerne, it should be noted, is one of the county’s highest-performing schools.

Expectations are high for new Desert Trails charter, which will most certainly be watched closely by parents, educators and school reform advocates in California and beyond.

Once the thrill of their victory against powerful union interests has subsided, the real work – developing a school that puts the success of its students first – begins.